Lesson 1. The Power of Invention
Invention is part of our everyday vocabulary. We have sayings like,
“It’s the best thing since sliced bread,” and “Don’t re-invent the
wheel” that reflect our strong connection to inventions of all kinds. It
would be very difficult to live even a single minute without the
benefit of some invention. Virtually everything we use had to be
invented. For instance, if you are in a room right now, think of the
thousands of inventions that surround you – from the windows to
the floors to the furniture to the device that heats or cools the room.
Some inventions are famous and legendary, while others are obscure and practically
forgotten. Many inventions stand on the shoulders of inventions that came before them.
Behind every invention is a person who saw a problem or an opportunity and invented a
solution or a new device.
Sometimes a terrific invention is a matter of sheer luck and
discovery. For example, Red Delicious apples are one of the
most common varieties of apples available. It was discovered by
an Iowan farmer named Jesse Hiatt who saw a small seedling
growing on his farm. He thought it was a nuisance plant and
chopped it down. The tree kept growing back, however, and
finally he allowed it to grow to maturity. It produced red apples.
Eighteen years went by and he took the apple he called
“Hawkeye” to a fruit show where he sold the rights to market the
apple that was renamed Red Delicious.
 Go to the site below (The Inventor’s Hall of Fame):
www.invent.org/hall_of_fame/1_1_search.asp
Select “search by decade” and select “1900.” Scroll through the inventions from this
decade that made it into the Hall of Fame.
Choose the five that you feel are most important and list them here:
1. ______________________________
2. ______________________________
3. ______________________________
4. ______________________________
5. ______________________________
Circle the number(s) of the
invention(s) listed above that
you have used.
Place a star next to the one
you would least like to live
without.
Inventions-1.1
© 2009: This lesson plan is the property of the Mensa Education & Research Foundation,
www.mensafoundation.org. It is provided as a complimentary service to the public. Reproduction and
distribution without modification are allowed. Images, links and linked content referenced herein are the
property of the originating entities.
Select “search by decade” again and select any decade you wish.
Which invention do you wish most that you would have invented yourself?
______________________________________________________________________
* Describe what life would be like without that invention using the three-frame comic
strip below. Use the first two frames to show life with the invention, and the last frame to
show life without the invention.
Inventions-1.2
© 2009: This lesson plan is the property of the Mensa Education & Research Foundation,
www.mensafoundation.org. It is provided as a complimentary service to the public. Reproduction and
distribution without modification are allowed. Images, links and linked content referenced herein are the
property of the originating entities.